


the ghost of you (it keeps me awake)

by deltajackdalton



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Psychics/Psionics, Father-Son Relationship, Ghosts, Psychic Abilities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24543319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deltajackdalton/pseuds/deltajackdalton
Summary: So I got this idea based on reading ghost stories from kids and I wondered how Nick would react to his child seeing a ghost. And I got permission to use Parker Stokes created by panchostokes because he is amazing and I love him dearly!(Also, title comes from "Ghost" by Ella Henderson, but it's not a song fic lol)
Relationships: Greg Sanders & Nick Stokes, Nick Stokes & Original Child Character
Comments: 11
Kudos: 9





	the ghost of you (it keeps me awake)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [panchostokes (badwolfrun)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/badwolfrun/gifts).



> So I got this idea based on reading ghost stories from kids and I wondered how Nick would react to his child seeing a ghost. And I got permission to use Parker Stokes created by panchostokes because he is amazing and I love him dearly!  
> (Also, title comes from "Ghost" by Ella Henderson, but it's not a song fic lol)

Nick's used to many sounds in his home now where fifteen years ago, he wanted silence. Ten years ago he was just happy to be alive to hear anything again other than his own breathing. He couldn't imagine life without the sound of little feet following him around everywhere, little voice with the faintest of Texas drawls asking him all the "hows" and "whys" under the sun.

So the fact that it was quiet now at dinner time -the most active time of the day- is unsettling.

"Parker, bud, you gotta come eat before it gets cold." Normally, that results in his son running into the kitchen with Sam right on his heels. It doesn't this time. "Parker?"

"In the bedroom Daddy!" At Parker's voice Sam jumps up from his spot at the backdoor soaking up the last little bit of sunlight and runs to him, tail wagging happily. Nick lets out a shaky breath he didn't realize he was holding.

That's all it was. Parker had recently had a birthday, received tons of presents from his aunts and uncles both biological and adopted at the lab. He got caught up playing with his toys. That's all.

He waits five, ten minutes; eats his own dinner, turns on the nightly news just for the sound. A distraction. Still no Parker. Maybe he gets irrationally paranoid about things and works himself over nothing. This isn't nothing, this is his son, and he can't squash that feeling deep in his gut that something isn't right.

"Parker, come on now, you have to eat. Parker?" He's not sitting in the middle of a pile of toys that cover his bed constantly like Nick expected. Instead he seems to be having a very serious conversation… with the wall.

"Daddy does that sometimes too." His whisper-quiet voice, so serious for a toddler, combined with the fact that whatever is talking, it's talking about Nick makes a shiver crawl up his spine. When he turns around, his expression can only be described as dazed. Hollow. Like he's just waking up from a nap but he's not. Nick jerks him up which seems to bring him back to himself and backs towards the doorway, keeping a hand on the back of his head so he can't look towards the wall.

"Who were you talking to Parker?"

"My friend. The man that lives in the walls." It's a sheer miracle his knees don't buckle and drop them both to the floor. "He said he knows you."

All the blood rushes out of his head so quickly it leaves his ears roaring, but that doesn't prevent him from hearing the low growl Sam lets out, fur bristling on the back of his neck. He doesn't see anything, doesn't want to see anything, but the image of a hole in another ceiling, black barrel of a gun aimed at his head, at Parker, is all too real.

He has enough sense to grab a stuffed animal and the diaper bag he keeps on hand out of the floor before all but sprinting out of the house. The street is quiet at least, just the sound of highways in the distance. He buckles Parker up with shaky fingers and Sam jumps into the seat beside him, keeping watch while he locks the front door. No sweep of the property while his little boy's with him. In danger because of him.

"Where we goin'?" Where were they going? Where could you go when home isn't an option?

Who had he turned to time and time again?

"We're going to see Uncle Greg." He tells his son, patting his leg gently. Because Greg's got experience with this sort of thing. Parker's eyes light up at the mention of his favorite uncle and Nick holds onto that look, desperately trying to banish the blank stare from his mind. 

Greg lives just fifteen minutes away but night drives always put Parker to sleep. He's lucky for once and catches Greg at home instead of having to track him down at the lab or in the field. Nick tries not to beat the door down banging on it to be heard over the music blaring inside. He's just barely successful.

Greg's witty greeting dies on his lips when he sees Nick's drawn expression on the other side of the peephole. He ushers them inside quickly and locks the door, not even commenting on Sam's presence. "What happened? Are you okay? Is Parker okay?"

"Ye-yeah. We're okay." He has to bite his lip to keep it from trembling.

"Come on, something must've happened. You look like you've seen a ghost." Nick blanches at the word, clutches Parker tighter to his chest which draws a little groan of protest from him.

"Damn it, I didn't get anything for him to eat. I left too quickly."

"Hey, I've got food too. Just tell me what the hell happened!"

He rouses Parker up, relief washing over him as bright gray eyes look back at him, not through him. "Tell Uncle Greg what you saw in your room tonight, buddy."

"The man that lives in the walls." He yawns and rubs his eyes with little hands. Greg's eyebrows quirk up like he does when he's studying a particularly confusing piece of evidence. He kneels down to get eye level with him.

"Does the man that lives in the walls have a name?"

"No. He said he knows Daddy." He shoots Nick what he hopes is a comforting look as a shiver runs over him, gripping his right shoulder for support.

"Can you describe what he looks like?" Parker falls quiet, shaking his head 'no'. "Hey, that's alright. Maybe later. You want something to eat? Some mac and cheese maybe?" That perks him up and he climbs out of Nick's lap and takes Greg's hand to get some of the cheesy goodness. Once he's distracted, Greg goes back to Nick sitting in the living room, head resting in his hands.

"How long has that been going on?"

"It hasn't! I just found him in his room talking to the wall, about me. He was out of it, G. It's like he-he was possessed or something. I didn't know what else to do!"

"And you're sure it's not just an imaginary friend?"

"I've seen kids talk to imaginary friends before. Parker talks to his toys all the time, but this was… different." He insists, and Greg takes his word on it.

"You did the right thing." Nick looks at him expectantly. "What? You want me to talk to a ghost?"

"You're psychic! You said so yourself."

"I can't make a spirit leave." Nick's despaired look makes him backpedal in an instant. "I'll try. I'll try, but I don't know if it'll do any good. After my shift? Just spend the night here for tonight, okay? Make yourself at home."

As bad as he hates intruding on his closest friend, he hates the thought of taking Parker back home -until whatever that thing was disappeared- more. "Okay."

"Seriously Nick, anything you or Parker need, just use it. Don't go back there alone. I'll be back later."

He'd never been more grateful for a night off. Even if he didn't get to spend it at home. Thinking about what could have happened if he'd left Parker with Cassie made his stomach churn. Cassie's a smart girl, that's why he hired her. She could've handled it but still the thought gnawed at him. 

Greg's apartment had become a sort of second home after everything that had happened, both in Vegas and most recently in San Diego. Especially after Officer Clark's funeral while he was recovering from his gunshot wounds and couldn't use his left arm for awhile. Greg was a gracious host and excellent with Parker.

Parker came back to the living room not long after Greg had left and climbed up in Nick's lap once again. His gray eyes were tired and droopy but he was himself once more. "When we goin' home?"

Nick's heart clenches. So innocent. For his sake as well as Parker's he hopes with everything in him that tonight will be a distant memory. "Tomorrow, Buddy. Uncle Greg said we could spend the night at his house. That'll be fun right?" 

"Yeah. That'll be fun." He yawned, the sudden drive to Greg's and staying up past his bedtime finally catching up to him. Nick stroked his hair and found it just as soothing to himself as it was to Parker. Parker was out again in no time, sleeping soundly on Nick's chest, but Nick couldn't turn his mind off for rest. 

There's only one bedroom in Greg's apartment and while he knows that Greg wouldn't mind sharing, Nick decides to sleep on the couch with Parker tucked against him. Sam picks a spot on the floor where he can see the door and Parker, on the dog bed Greg keeps for when he watches him. He turns on the Discovery Channel and prepares for another long sleepless night guarding his little boy.

~~~

Greg isn't sure what to make of Parker's ghost story, and the more he thinks about it, the steadier his heart rate picks up. He'd only just come to terms with being psychic himself although the details were still fuzzy, everything he could remember his Nana Olaf telling him when he was growing up all kind of muddled together. Internet research wasn't much more reliable, so he was piecing it together for himself.

Parker had no reason to lie to Nick or himself about what he saw or thought he saw. A regular imaginary friend wouldn't have Nick so worked up and frankly, scared. He'd seen fear in Nick's eyes before, but never seen him look so haunted and didn't want to ever again. He couldn't imagine what Nick must've felt like, having an intruder in his home once again. One he could never see.

His initial instinct is to investigate on his own without any distractions. Nick would not approve of him invading his personal space though, at all. He can see those dark eyes piercing him with an angry snarl and banishes the thought from his mind for good.

He spends his entire shift switching his focus from the case he's working to Nick and Parker back at his apartment, knowing that at least one of them wasn't sleeping like he should've been and sends a quick text asking if they're okay. Within seconds he gets a one word reply of "fine" and figures that's the best he's going to get until they figure out what Parker actually saw and get rid of it.

He hates to mention the fact that Nick was scheduled to work that night and would need to go back home for a change of clothes and his service pistol that Greg noticed first thing wasn't on him when he showed up at his place. Nick was bound to know anyway, and Greg wonders where Parker will stay for the night, wonders if the undersheriff would have a problem with him staying in the break room. Probably. He doesn't mention it. 

He's not in his usual upbeat, talkative mood but he doesn't want anyone to get suspicious so he keeps up a steady stream of conversation when he runs into them in the halls and then slinks off to the lab for some privacy to run his tests. All the while checking his phone for texts from Nick. He works a twelve hour shift without hearing anything.

He's just pulling on his jacket when he gets a text from Nick asking him to meet at his house when he gets off work. Nick's house is not that far from the lab but traffic slows him down and he arrives to find Nick pacing outside the house, Parker looking over his shoulder at him. He gives a little wave at Greg as he gets out of his SUV. "Uncle Greg!"

"Hey Park." He ruffles the little shock of dark hair. "Are you okay, Nick?"

Nick nods sharply before clearing his throat. "Yeah. The outside's clear. There's nothing here." His voice breaks giving away just how tense he feels. Parker leans into him and rubs his shoulder for comfort and Greg's shocked at just how sensitive he is to his father's emotions. He wonders if maybe Parker has a latent psychic intuition. Or maybe it had been there all along and never noticed because he's so young.

"How about Parker and me take a walk around and he can show me what he saw last night? Would you do that for us Parker?"

"Greg. I don't think that's a good idea." Nick clutches him to his chest harder, unwilling to let him go, but Parker leans back and places both hands on his cheeks to get his attention. "I'll look wif Uncle Greg. I'm bwave."

"I know you are, buddy." Nick kisses his cheek then sets him down so that he can take Greg's hand to show him through the house with Sam guarding the little boy's other side and Nick trailing close behind, gun drawn but hidden from Parker behind his back.

The inside of Nick's house is, except for the TV he must have forgotten to turn off, silent. It's eerie really and a chill moves over Greg. It's not been this quiet since he moved to San Diego. It's never been this quiet, not since the box he's sure. Parker doesn't take particular interest in the kitchen or living room, instead tugging Greg towards the dark hallway and his bedroom. Something's not quite right with the atmosphere, besides the tension radiating off of Nick at his back. The air is heavy. But he's not afraid and neither is Parker.

"He's here Uncle Greg." He whispers but might as well be yelling in the silence.

"Who's here Parker? Can you ask him his name?" Greg starts to turn into Parker's room but the little boy walks calmly into Nick's room and up to the dresser. The two men crowd into the doorway to watch and make sure he's safe, for the most part. Sam whimpers but stays right at his young charge's side.

"Uncle Greg wants to know your name," he says, is quiet for a second then answers "he says he knows you too Uncle Greg." Nick shoots him a worried look, eyebrows drawn in a frown.

"How does he know us?"

"He says he's pwoud of you and Daddy." 

Finally Nick finds his voice, albeit shaky and rough. "Who is it Parker?"

Parker turns to the nightstand and points to a framed picture of their old CSI team from many years ago. "Uncle Rick."


End file.
